14 



INTRODUCTION. 



preyed upon by ' the fowl of the air and the fish of 

 the sea ' ; frogs lick them up with their viscid 

 tongues, and toads are continually sending them in 

 search of the 'mystic jewel ' within their bodies, while 

 snakes, lizards, moles, skunks, and a host of other 

 animals are their constant enemies. But more de- 

 structive than any or all of these, are the foes of their 

 own class — the predaceous and parasitic insects. 



Predaceous insects are those which attack other 

 insects from the outside, devouring them bodily, or 

 sucking out their life blood. The 

 handsome little lady-beetles (Fig. 3), 

 the tw r o-winged robber-flies, or the 

 four-winged dragon-flies furnish good 

 examples of this class. So; also, do 

 the black ground beetles, found 

 everywhere under sticks and stones. 

 Some of the largest of these are called cater} >illar 

 hunters, because they feed upon canker-worms, army- 

 worms, cut-worms, and various other insect pests. 

 One of these ground beetles 

 is shown at Fig. 4, the 

 larva being represented at 

 the left, and the beetle at 

 the right. Other predace- 

 ous insects live in ponds, 

 lakes and rivers, devour- 

 ing mosquitoes and related 

 creatures, while still others vw A Ground Beetle. 



Fig. :'•. Lady Beetle. 

 Magnified. 



